Thursday, October 23, 2008

JBR ain't all bad.

Jumeirah Beach Residence has taken a lot of stick for the high density accommodation and I have to agree - far too many towers, too tall and too many of them packed in together.



But actually, walking around it there's a whole side of it that's been done very well.
On the Plaza level, although you're surrounded by the towers, there is some open space, water features, landscaping, and I'm surprised to say that I think it's done well.


When you're on the ocean side there are more architectural features and of course there's much more of a feeling of open space...




There are shops and restaurants up on the Plaza Level too, and some of the restaurants look to be worth a try so we'll do that over the next few weeks...


Then down at ground level on the Gulf side there's The Walk. That's the retail section, about two kilometres long I guess, with a lot of coffee shops and restaurants going in, many already open. There are also banks and shops such as Jumbo Electronics and clothing retailers.


It's a much more human scale down here, the ocean to one side and much lower buildings on the other, masking most of the towers from view.


Again there's open space and landscaping. A good choice of street furniture too I think, the lamps, benches, even the waste bins...
The Walk takes on a different atmosphere at night, a very pleasant one too...

There's also some nice detail, particularly the use of design and materials relevant to the region...






But of course it wouldn't truly be Dubai unless the completed work was constantly dug up.

Inevitably the holescaping gangs are out in force in the completed areas, digging them up again.




The towers remind me of the low cost towers in Hong Kong and Singapore and I wouldn't want to live in such high density, crowded accommodation. But overall I'm pleasantly surprised, the rest of it is well done.
I think I'm in the best position - a short walk from the facilities without living there.

8 comments:

Keef said...

I wasn't able to penetrate the solid wall of towers when I lived in Dubai. It's quite interesting what they've done on the sea side. It just pisses me off that they built something not unlike 1960s Sheffield to obscure the view for the mortals.

Seabee said...

Not the original Marina Master Plan as I understand it. I'm told that was relatively sensible with low rise by the ocean and the taller towers back the other side.
Although they've done a good job with the non-tower areas the high towers themselves are completely wrong for the beachfront.

Anonymous said...

and they let you take photo's......

Seabee said...

Dave the shots on the Plaza Level, where security is on the prowl, were taken when they weren't in sight.

em said...

what about the parking?
i cant imagine how the mornings would be when everyone has to get to work/school...

caz said...

SeeBee,
The text came through OK, but no photographs. Tried several times, but no go. Any of your Blogging readers have the same prolem?

Caz.

em said...

ooh the security guards found out and censored them out:)

nah i can see them fine

Seabee said...

Emma parking is OK at the moment, there seems to be underground parking for the tenants and there's street parking and a large open air carpark right on the beach. In the near future I bet that makes way for another building though, I can't imagine prime beachfront land not being built on. That'll stuff everything up of course.

As for the to and from problem for residents, the original breathtakingly stupid design had only one two-way narrow road/bridge for in and out of that entire side of the Marina. The RTA has dug it all up and huge interchanges and much bigger bridges are now going in. In addition they're building the gigantic Interchange 5.5 from Sheikh Zayed Road into the southern (Jebel Ali) end of the Marina. Again the original plan didn't have any way in or out at that end (100,000 people all trying to come and go via the same road - great planning!) So, inshaala, it may be less than gridlock when it's all finished.

Caz the problem seems to be your end.